The Other Side of Tonight Alive

The wonderful thing about music is that everyone has an opinion on it whether it be about an artist, a particular song or an entire album. For every lover of a particular song there will be a hater of it and for every fan of an artist there will be someone who criticises every aspect of them. That’s just the way music is and while it’s good to debate on various parts of it there sometimes lacks respect towards another’s taste. Sure, you think Justin Bieber is terrible but that’s someone’s favourite musician and he’s probably helped them through some troubling times in their life like your favourite artist has so it’s always worth remembering that before hitting out with some petty opinion.

It’s a subject I touch upon in this article because recently nothing has divided opinion more than the latest releases by Tonight Alive. Well-known for their rock songs such as ‘Lonely Girl’, ‘The Ocean’ and their fantastic cover of Mumford & Sons ‘ Little Lion Man’ then it’s safe to say they’ve surprised us with the tasters of forthcoming album ‘Limitless’ so far. With ‘Human Interaction’ giving off a very spiritual vibe and ‘Drive’ being a solid catchy pop song then it’s possibly a sign that the album certainly isn’t going to be what we’ve become accustomed to from Tonight Alive. So with a less heavier sound and appearing to be more “radio-friendly” then what do some massive Tonight Alive fans think of it all? Are the band trying to fix something that actually isn’t broken? Is this ‘The Other Side’ of Tonight Alive that we didn’t know about?

I spoke to Sarah who said “At first I was quite unsure about Tonight Alive’s new sound, as I felt it wasn’t as strong as previous albums ‘What Are You So Scared Of?” and “The Other Side”, but after a few listens to them the songs are quite catchy and still hold as much meaning as previous albums, just with a different tempo” but when I spoke to Roisin she felt differently. “Personally I ain’t digging the new sound that tonight alive have taken on. It kinda sounds poppy and over produced in a way. I’m all for different sounds and directions, everyone has their own ideas but for me I feel like the new songs have been kinda rushed and they’re just trying to push boundaries that aren’t even there. Honestly, it’s kinda like they’re bored of the success they were getting and decided to push it another way.”

It’s an interesting take on it whether you agree with Roisin or not. I spoke to another band member to hear, as a fellow musician, what their take on it was and if they can understand the change that Tonight Alive have taken in their music. “As a musician you always look for ways to improve and be better. You don’t always want to be making the same music you may have made 5 years ago and, while change can alienate some fans, it can also bring in a lot more” they told me.

That’s hard to argue with and extremely easy to understand but I tend to think it depends on each band individually. You can have a band like New Found Glory who churn out pop-punk album after pop-punk album and it never gets old while the fans never disappear. They keep coming back for more so that’s not to say keeping the same sound doesn’t work. Change can be good but is it always for the better? With a UK tour coming up this week and a newly released album on the horizon then it’s going to be an interesting year for Tonight Alive. It’s a brave thing for any band to do and they may lose some fans due to the sudden change but I can guarantee they’ll make a damn load more. With the solid, passionate fan base that they have there is no doubt that they will continue to keep their music tonight, and every night, alive.